The Inspired Word Part 1
by Mark Downey
January 19, 2014
Scripture Reading: 2 Timothy 3:14-17
The Bible is different than every book that has ever been written because it is through the auspices of Almighty God. Think about that for a moment. Most religions of the world have their own so called holy book, but our Holy Bible is the only one that claims to be the actual words of God. More than 3000 times we read “thus saith the Lord” or “God said,” followed by a direct quotation. No one knows exactly how many books have been published throughout history, but according to Google’s advanced algorithms, the answer is close to 130 million books. And there is only one book that can qualify as being inspired or more succinctly, the Word of God. In Christianity we hear the word ‘inspiration’ all the time coupled with the word ‘infallible.’ This prompts the inquiry: why would the “Author of our Faith” (Heb. 12:2) use fallible men to write Scripture? Well, think about it; we don’t have any of the original documents or autographs from which copies were made and survived as our only resource.
One of the Bible's most outstanding proclamations is that it plainly claims to be the inspired word of Almighty God. This is what Paul, a highly educated Israelite proclaimed, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God" (II Tim. 3:16). Peter wrote that the content of Scripture "never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (II Peter 1:21). To early church leaders, inspiration was not an ecstatic overpowering of the writer's consciousness, as described in the occult as “automatic handwriting,” but rather a high degree of elucidation and divine awareness of God's revelation. Scripture indicates, and the early church recognized, that God inspired the biblical writers to use their own minds and their own styles to write what God wanted them to write. Likewise, we are all unique in the eyes of God, not just robotic disciples. God said of our race that we were “chosen… as His peculiar treasure” (Ps.135:4). Our race would not only write the Bible (Is. 43:10. 59:21), but we would be the only race able to hear (obey) the Lord (John 10:27).
The Bible describes the process of divine inspiration in the way God worked with Moses, "And God spoke all these words… And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord… when Moses had completed writing the words of this law in a book… Moses commanded the Levites… Take this Book of the Law, and put it beside the ark of the covenant" (Ex. 20:1; 24:4; Deut. 31:24–26). Centuries later, Ezra and Nehemiah read to the people of Israel from the "Book of the Law of Moses," (Nehemiah 8:1, 18). Jesus acknowledged its divine inspiration when He said, "Have you not read in the book of Moses… how God spoke to him" (Mark 12:26). The prophet Jeremiah recorded a similar experience: "The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 'Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel, saying: Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you" (Jer. 30:1-2).
Not only does the Bible claim to be divinely inspired, it claims to be the ultimate source of truth, revealed by the one true God. The Apostle John wrote, "Thy word is truth" (John 17:17). David wrote, "Your law is truth… all Your commandments are truth... The entirety of Your word is truth" (Ps. 119:142, 151, 160). The prophet Isaiah declared, "To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isaiah 8:20). Isaiah meant that if statements and ideas do not agree with Scripture, they can be identified as false. Paul also calls Scripture "The word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15). The Bible repeatedly emphasizes, "The Lord is the true God." Scripture records that when the ancient Egyptian priests saw the miracles performed by Moses, and saw their own gods powerless, they concluded: "This is the finger of God" (Ex. 8:16–19). Daniel records that Nebuchadnezzar, the pagan king of Babylon, came to the same conclusion after encountering the God of the Bible: "Truly, your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries" (Daniel 2:47). The Bible records that Paul, distraught at seeing Athens "given over to idols," taught these superstitious philosophers about the true God (Acts 17:16–34). This is difficult for many today to believe; because we live in an age of apostasy where even seminaries and schools of theology doubt that the Bible really is God's word.
Scripture boldly asserts that "The word of our God stands forever" and "The word of the Lord endures forever" (Isaiah 40:8; I Peter 1:25). King David wrote, "His truth endures to all generations" (Ps. 100:5). Yet, down through the centuries, malevolent adversaries have tried to undermine and destroy Scripture. The Bible warns, "Do not be deceived; God is not mocked" (Gal. 6:7). The Old Testament records that during the Assyrian invasion of Judah (ca. 700bc), Sennacherib, a pagan Assyrian king, mocked the God of Israel before King Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem (2 Chron. 32:9–19). Shortly thereafter, "The Lord sent an angel who destroyed every mighty man of valor… in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he [Sennacherib] returned disgraced to his own land. And when he had gone into the temple of his god, some of his own children killed him there with the sword" (II Chron. 32:21–22). The Bible reveals that dire consequences will arise when adversaries mock the real God! I’ve seen this from personal experience, when my ministry was under attack and God dealt His vengeance on the attackers.
In the century after the apostles, historical sources confirm that Celsus, an articulate pagan philosopher, created a major stir when he wrote a blistering attack against the Bible and Christianity. Celsus wrote that biblical teachings were absurd, that the gospel accounts were a deception and that anyone who believed in one God was deluded. The Bible survived, and Christianity spread around the world, but few people today have ever heard of Celsus! At the beginning of the 4th century, the Roman emperor Diocletian sought to wipe out the Christian religion. He unleashed a terrible persecution of Christians, and commanded that all Bibles be burned. However, within a few short years a new emperor (Constantine) actually ordered the production of 50 Bibles! Secular scholars in the 18th century became enamored by the apparent power of human reason and the new discoveries of science. The Age of Enlightenment assumed an ultimate authority, armed with a bias against the supernatural and began to offer speculative theories about the Bible's alleged origins, contradictions and errors. However, the assumptions of these critics have not stood the test of time. In fact, some of their bold pronouncements now appear extremely presumptuous and naïve. Toward the end of the 18th century, the French philosopher Voltaire predicted that Christianity would be swept from existence within a century. Yet, 50 years after he died, the Geneva Bible Society produced stacks of Bibles in Voltaire's house on his own press. God is not without irony for divine justice.
Much like the Ten Commandments written on stone tablets and having disappeared; suppose God published an opulently gold bound edition bedazzled with jewels in His own handwriting on the finest of parchments and it survived. What would man do with it? Who would be in charge of it? People would put it in a shrine under bulletproof glass, surrounded by security guards, under the control of a priestcraft and away from the people; it would become a worthless object venerated as most other religious relics and its contents sequestered. How can I make such a conjecture? Well, it’s the very thing the RCC did up to the invention of the Gutenberg Press. The Word was always meant for His people. Copies would insure that it got into as many hands as could receive it, not to be chained to a pulpit under lock and key. As our race populated the earth, it would necessitate divine distribution.
The fact that the Bible has survived the ages proves, as no other book can, that God can author an infallible book written by fallible man. God spoke and man wrote it down. “This is the word that came to Jeremiah saying, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you” Jer. 30:2. Not all of Scripture was written by way of dictation per se. A lot of the Pentateuch (first five books of the OT) was a historic chronicle of the White race written by Moses. The books of the prophets read like personal journals. Each writer was guided by the Spirit of God so that there were no doctrinal errors. II Peter 1:21 tells us, “no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” This indicates how God inspired His word processors. The verb ‘moved’ (#5342) also speaks of a sail filled with wind and going forward, which dovetails with the Greek word for ‘spirit’ (#4151) also used for ‘wind.’ The word ‘spirit’ operates on several levels. When God breathed into man the “breath of life”, he came alive. Therefore, on a physical level it is simply air moving in and out of our nose. On a mental level, it is the motivation(s) from God that animates our Christian character.
In II Tim. 3:16, instead of “inspiration of God,” some versions render the verse “All Scripture is God breathed” (NIV, ESV, YLT) where we get the same meaning from Genesis 2:7, “God… breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” The ‘breath of life’ is synonymous with the Spirit of God. God put the life into the words of His writers and we know it as the living word of God. The Holy Spirit or Spirit of God is the exclusive agency and property of God and means the purity or divine perfection of His will. Those White men who wrote the Bible (not jews) were motivated to carry the will of God to the rest of Adamkind (mankind) in the world. We, in turn (from generation to generation) carry the message of the faith of our fathers to our children.
As a side note, it is likely Paul coined the term for “God-breathed” using the Greek word ‘theopneustos’ (theh-op'-nyoo-stos; #2315) and is better rendered 'breathed out by God' as the emphasis is upon the divine origin of the inscripturated revelation itself. Inscripturation refers to the committing to writing of truths revealed by God to inspired men. ‘Inspiration’ is the process by which God through His Spirit illuminated chosen men and granted them unique insight, conveying His revelation to them. What it says of Scripture is, not that it is "breathed into by God" or is the product of the Divine "inbreathing" into its authors, but that it is breathed out by God, "God-breathed,” the product of the creative breath of God. What is declared by this fundamental passage is simply that the Scriptures are a Divine product, without any indication of how God has operated in producing them. It’s both a mystery and a miracle. God's breath is the irresistible outflow of His power.
In each book of the Bible, the personality of each writer is distinguished from the others. This is clearly seen comparing the works of Paul or John or Peter, while all of them contain the words that proceed from the mouth of God. It’s not just the thoughts and ideas that are inspired, but every single word. We should not confuse the inspiration of Scripture with the inspiration of an artistic or musical masterpiece. Scripture is deservedly in a category independent of all other inspirations. The prophets of old and the apostles of the New Covenant were not inspired by worldly principles, but by what God revealed to them, and they declared them in unambiguous and unpretentious language. “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches; comparing spiritual things with spiritual” I Cor. 2:12-13.
God could not use someone who received the spirit of the world i.e. the adversaries of God or the White race, the heathen gods of the world or the sinful carnal disposition of worldly men. The spirit of the world can be regarded as the racial alien under the power of making false accusations and slander. God cannot use someone today who preaches the leaven of universalism for their words are no longer inspired. Because the Word is inspired by God, the Scriptures are the final authority so far as doctrines and teaching us how to have the right relationship with God. Most people don’t think of the Bible as having the supernatural ability to make us repent and to be perfect/complete, but it does. Otherwise we would not have the command to “Be ye perfect.” Jesus reinforced the accuracy of Scripture down to the smallest detail and slightest punctuation marks. “Do not think that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the law until all is accomplished” Mt. 5:17-18. How does that sit with New Testament judeo-Christians who nail all of the law to the Cross? It doesn’t sit very well at all with their double-minded religion of love and lawlessness. “This is love: that we walk according to His commands” II John 1:6.
Because God is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent, His Word, by its very nature, will have the same characteristics. Without hesitation, the Bible is what it claims to be: the undeniable, the authoritative, the absolute Word of the Creator of the universe to His chosen custodians, to preserve and administrate the sacred oracles. Besides all the knowledge man needs to live by, it also possesses priceless wisdom. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all they that do His commandments” Ps. 111:10. If a handful of writers, living at the same time and in the same country, wrote a book together such as the Bible, critics could possibly make a case of conspiracy and premeditation. By contrast however, over 40 different authors having diverse vocations (from blue collar shepherds, farmers, tent-makers, fishermen to white collar physicians, priests, philosophers and kings), living far away from each other, speaking different languages, writing over the expanse of time from 1450BC to about 100AD i.e. some 1500 years, incredibly produced an extremely unparalleled cohesive and unified book. Surely there would be some major flaws and contradictions, but there isn’t. There are no contradictions in the Bible. The wide gamut of armchair quarterbacks claim to have found contradictions, but they have to take verses out of context or redefine words to do so. Sometimes it’s just a ‘Hail Mary’ pass, hoping somebody will catch their assumption and run with it. To understand the Bible, it is imperative that it be taken as a whole. Nothing can be swept under the rug for a convenient argument. An inconvenient truth usually blocks the goal of God’s adversaries.
“God is not the author of confusion” I Cor. 14:33. The Christian who is inspired by the Word will observe order and decency when receiving and delivering the revealed Word. The Word never teaches man to be negligent of their responsibilities or to be unaccountable for their deeds. “Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate [government]” Amos 5:15. A common ‘out of context’ refrain argues ‘judge not lest thou also be judged.’ This mindless drivel nullifies virtually all references throughout the inspired Word of God to observe the Law by executing the specified judgments; it would quickly neutralize the government of Christ. Most people are unaware that violations of the Ten Commandments are punishable by death (except for the tenth).
There’s some confusion about what canon is i.e. what the inspired books of the Bible are? Should some be excluded and others included? ‘Canon’ comes from the Greek word ‘kanon,’ meaning a measuring rod. Thus, to have the Bible ‘canonized’ meant that it had been measured by the standard or test of divine inspiration and authority. It became the collection of books or writings accepted by the Apostles and leadership of the early Christian church as their basis of worship and fellowship. It is the standard by which all White Christians throughout their generations have lived and served the God of Israel. The entire New Testament as we know it today was canonized before the year 375AD. The Old Testament had previously been canonized long before the advent of Christ. The books of the canon of the New Testament were written mostly in the 1st century and finished by the year 150 AD. Writings attributed to the Apostles circulated among the earliest Christian communities. The Pauline epistles were circulating, perhaps in collected forms, by the end of the 1st century AD. The Biblical canon began with the officially accepted books of the Koine Greek Old Testament, the Septuagint, which was used by Jesus and His Disciples. By the early 200's, Origen of Alexandria may have been using the same 27 books as in the modern New Testament.
Contrary to popular opinion and propaganda, neither jews nor catholics had a hand in either the Old or New Testament’s canonicity. The reality is that judaism, born in the Babylonian captivities, was a bastardized version of pre-Christian Israelite Scriptures, circumventing the Mosaic Law. On the other hand, the RCC rode in on the shirt tails of the early persecuted church, morphing Christianity with paganism. The RCC has never been an authentic ecclesia of Christ nor an authority for canonization, but rather the prophetic great whore of Babylon. Only Christian Identity pays close attention to the history of where the inspired Word of God went after the death of Christ. Of particular interest is Joseph of Arimathea, the uncle of Jesus, arriving in Glastonbury, England, in 60AD; going to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and with him the good news of the Gospel message. Historical sources also indicate that Paul, Peter, Mary and others traveled to Western Europe and Britain carrying the exclusive racial message from God to their Israelite kinsmen. Tribal names of Israel appear in the records of ancient Ireland.
In my research, I discovered something that could have been partly innocuous or more likely highly suspicious. It has to do with how many books of the Old Testament were considered divinely inspired and how they were categorized and numbered. In the 1st century A.D., both Jesus (Luke 24:44) and the teacher Philo referred to three major divisions of the Old Testament canon: the Law, the Prophets and the Writings. Josephus, a 1st century historian, acknowledged that the Hebrew Bible consisted of 22 books, essentially the same text which, divided differently, forms the 39 books of our modern Old Testament; and that these books "have all been accepted as canonical from time immemorial.”
The fact that 22 books of the Old Testament and 27 books of the New Testament comprise the 49 books of the complete Bible indicates that a divine mind was guiding this process. The Bible is not just a haphazard collection of books! Everything in the Bible has a reason for being there; even a cursory count of its contents gives us a specific number. Everyone knows that the modern Bible has 66 books, but originally there were only 49.
Most Bible scholars agree that the number 49 is critically significant because it means completion or perfection. After 49 years (Lev. 25:8) what was Israel to declare? A Jubilee! A complete realignment of the economy; the forgiveness of debts! I bet the jewish scam of usury would love that one, especially when their creed is ‘never forgive – never forget.’ It must be hard for them to keep track of all their lies. 49 is 7X7 and 7 is associated with God and His perfection. In Mt. 18:21-22 Peter came to Christ and asked Him how often we should forgive a brother for wrong doing and the Lord said 70X7 (being 490) times. In other words, “be ye perfect” and don’t attempt to define by law the measure of grace. Grace itself is the Law of Jubilee. The 49 books of the Bible are His story and His story is history.
Indubitably, there were political and religious reasons why jews would want to do a chop job changing the tally to one six shy (66) of the mark of the beast (666). 49 was a powerful indication that the world now had the complete revelation from God with the inclusion of those New Testament books. Since jewish officials were powerless to do anything with the New Testament (the Testimony of Jesus Christ), the only recourse they saw possible was to alter the traditional numbering. I think this connotation of #6, which is the number of man (Rev. 13:18), would suggest that the Bible was the work of man and not God and therefore a post hypnotic suggestion to manipulate the good intentions of Christians to change the count. And what better way to do that than adding to or taking away from what was widely recognized in ancient times as a listing of 49 inspired books/canon. This may have given rise to the demand of some denominations to remove the epistles of Paul, the books of Esther and Solomon and/or an inclusion of the Apocrypha and other obscure pseudepigraphas. Apocrypha means hidden or concealed; pseudepigrapha means false writing, written by nebulous authors stealing famous names of the apostles for credibility; these books are without much credibility (so far as canon is concerned) other than historical oddities. The very last admonition of the New Testament is John’s Revelation giving us this warning, “I testify to everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of this prophetic book, God will take away his share of the tree of life and the holy city” Rev. 22:18-19.
I’ve wanted to write about this subject for years, because I am constantly asked by newcomers to the Christian Identity message: what is the best Bible I should be reading and studying? Of course, there is no one Bible that will supply our every need for spiritual edification and the mechanical wherewithal to attain the character of Christ in our lives. And I think that’s probably by God’s design that we absorb what He has given us through inspiration of whatever Bible version that occupies our attention. Some versions are better than others and some versions should be avoided for taking too much latitude for their pet doctrines and questionable agendas. But paying attention to what God has so carefully orchestrated for a given people should be enough incentive for us to have it revealed to us. The key to unlock the inspired word is what has been a captivity of spiritual blindness for the White race: that we are the true Israel. “Where there is no vision, the people perish” Prov. 29:18. This precious truth makes the Bible come alive and gives new meaning to your life. Pray when you read the Word and the Lord shall direct thy paths. There is much more to say about this subject and Lord willing we will pry open more Light and the world will make more sense.
